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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffAn ophthalmologist may be able to see a retinal hole, tear or detachment by looking at your retina with an ophthalmoscope — an instrument with a bright light and powerful lens that allows your doctor to view the inside of your eyes in great detail and in three dimensions.
If blood in your vitreous cavity blocks the view of your retina, ultrasound examination may be useful. Ultrasonography is a painless test that sends sound waves through your eye to bounce off the retina. The returning sound waves create an image of your retina and other eye structures on a video monitor. This test usually provides the information your doctor needs to determine whether your retina is detached.
- Retinal detachment. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/retinaldetach/index.asp. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Wilkinson CP. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. In: Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 2nd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby, Inc.; 2004:982-988.
- Arroyo JG. Retinal tear and detachment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
- Kang HK, et al. Management of retinal detachment: A guide for non-ophthalmologists. British Medical Journal. 2008;336:1235-1240.
- Posterior vitreous detachment, retinal breaks, and lattice degeneration. San Francisco, Ca.: American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=01c2221b-554a-4ebb-bff9-dd8e17f84008. Accessed Oct. 3, 2008.
- Fletcher EC, et al. Retina. In: Riordan-Eva P, et al. Vaughan & Asbury's General Ophthalmology. 17th ed. United States of America: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3088798. Accessed Oct. 1, 2008.
